Do What You Want: The Story of Bad Religion, the first autobiography of the band, written with their full cooperation and support of co-author Jim Ruland, will be released on August 18th. The press release is below and pre-orders are now up.
DO WHAT YOU WANT: The Story of Bad Religion is the first autobiography of the legendary punk band, written with their full cooperation and support of co-author Jim Ruland. It reveals the ups and downs of the band’s 40-year career, from their beginnings as teenagers experimenting in a San Fernando Valley garage dubbed “The Hell Hole” to headlining major music festivals around the world. The book predominantly features the four principal voices of Bad Religion in a hybrid oral history/narrative format: Greg Graffin, Brett Gurewitz, Jay Bentley, and Brian Baker. It also includes rare photos; never-before-seen material from the archives; and all-new interviews with former members and famous friends. Bad Religion’s unique blend of melodic hardcore and thought-provoking lyrics – along with the creation of the label Epitaph Records out of necessity to release their own records and later to sign bands – paved the way for the punk rock explosion of the 1990s, opening the door for bands like NOFX, The Offspring, Rancid, Green Day, and Blink-182 to reach wider audiences. They showed the world what punk could be and continue to spread their message one song, one show, one tour at a time-with no signs of stopping.